Trail Blazers 105, Jazz 99
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Damian Lillard scored 23 points and had eight assists as Portland outdueled Utah 105-99 on Saturday night at the Rose Garden.
J.J. Hickson chipped in 21 points and 11 rebounds, LaMarcus Aldridge had 18 points and 11 boards and Nicolas Batum came within an assist of a triple-double for Portland (24-23), which lost 86-77 Friday night at Salt Lake City. Batum finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Randy Foye scored 23 points and Paul Millsap collected 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Jazz (26-22).
Utah extended a three-point halftime lead to 63-53 on three 3-pointers by Foye midway through the third quarter. The Blazers responded with a 14-0 run as Will Barton's driving layup giving them a 67-63 edge. They took a 72-67 lead into the fourth quarter.
Utah tied the score at 79 on Alec Burks' 3-pointer with 8:15 remaining. Portland then used an 11-4 spurt to go ahead 90-83 with 4:41 to play. It was 90-87 with 3:51 left when Nolan Smith buried a 3-pointer from the corner to make it 93-87.
The Jazz closed to 99-96 on Foye's 3-pointer with 33.9 seconds remaining. Hickson's two free throws with 19.9 seconds left made it 101-96. Foye answered with a foul shot at 15.8 to cut the margin to 101-97, but Hickson nailed down the win by making two free throws with 14.5 seconds to go.
Utah emerged from a back-and-forth first half with a 46-43 lead. The Jazz jumped in front 23-17, but Portland scored the final seven points of the first quarter to take a 24-23 advantage.
The Jazz was in front 40-33 when the Blazers answered with an 8-0 run to go on top 41-40.
Marvin Williams had 11 points and five rebounds and Al Jefferson collected six points, five assists and four rebounds in the first half for Utah.
Lillard scored 12 points, Batum contributed 10 points, five rebounds and four assists and Hickson had eight points and eight rebounds at halftime for Portland, which was hurt by 10 turnovers in the first half.
NOTES: Both teams were short-handed going into the rematch of Friday's 86-77 Jazz victory in Salt Lake City. Portland was minus reserve point guard Ronnie Price (ankle) and reserve forward Sasha Pavlovic (foot). Utah was without starting point guard Mo Williams (hand), reserve point guard Earl Watson (knee) and reserve forward Gordon Hayward (shoulder). ... ... Corbin said Hayward is day to day and Williams -- who underwent hand surgery on Jan. 7 -- will see the surgeon on Feb. 15 to check the healing process and decide whether or not the pin can be removed. ... Does Portland have the edge in the second of back-to-back games against the same opponent? "It's an advantage to be at home, but it's zero-zero," Stotts said. "What happened last night is in the past. (The Jazz) are looking at an opportunity to sweep the second end of back-to-backs. We play well at home; hopefully, we'll carry through with that." ... The Jazz have won nine of 11 since Williams left the lineup. Could they have handled his absence any better? "If we'd won 11 in a row," Corbin said, laughing. "All things considered, the guys are doing great. You can't question their character. They've continued to fight."
